Well, I did it! Set up an Ebay seller acct. The process is easy but

[yy4me]

I really am not clear about how I am paid if my items sell. As a buyer, I paid w/PayPal. Easy. As a seller, if my items sell, I gather the money goes into my PayPal acct and at some point I can ask for a check or have the $$ transferred to my bank? Is that correct? I don't want to list all the things I have in my treasures box(I wish) at once, just a few things at a time to get my feet wet. This will not be for a living but to move on some of the things I no longer want and that my kids don't want either. Had a good house cleaning at the yard sale but have a number of small items that need new homes. I would never have received any kind of money at a yard sale. I listed just one item today with no picture, it will be simple for anyone interested to Google it. It was also in the Want Now section of e-bay. Do they e-mail the person looking?

I sold a couple of tables on Craigslist and was able to post a picture with the listing. Is the same process used in Ebay? I'm no wizard with the Digital camera, its not the picture, it is the posting of same to the listing.

Do you have to place a "Buy it now" figure? As I buyer, that is what I like to see but I don't know the value of some of the stuff I have to place that figure as a seller.

I'd love some advice for a beginner.

Thanks

[grasswire]

1. yes, into your Paypal account

You can then spend the money with Paypal, or you can transfer it to your bank account, or you can get a Paypal debit card which you can use at an ATM or as a Mastercard. I love the fact that if someone buys something on eBay I can draw out the cash money within minutes with my Paypal debit card.

[yy4me]

2. How did I miss that goof and who put the emoticon there?

It was supposed to be treasure box (I wish).

[InvisibleTouch]

3. Always add a picture.

I tend not to trust listings without pictures, and since you get Gallery for free now, you definitely want to take advantage of using a picture to draw more attention to your listing.

eBay gives you one picture insertion for free (you can upload it to their system right from the seller form), and if you're posting in the Collectibles category, you get multiple pictures for free now.

You don't have to add a Buy-It-Now price if you're listing auction-style, and since they will charge you both for your auction insertion fee and for adding a Buy-It-Now, you may as well just go with BIN, if you have a pretty good idea of what your item is worth and there's a fixed price you're willing to accept. On the other hand, if you have something rare and potentially valuable, and aren't sure how high it might go, list it as an auction without a BIN and let the bidders decide.

[yy4me]

5. Thanks for the advice I/T. Even though I read most of the ebay

info, I have much to learn. Yesterday I figured out how to post a picture. Mind you, I am neither a camera nor a computer person so much of the beginning of this effort will be trial and error.

Somehow, I never saw the info regarding the additional BIN fee. On the one thing I listed, as a practice post, I put a starting bid and a buy it now price. Since it is small, I offered free shipping. The item is easily found on "the google" so I figured that anyone interested would try and search to see what the item looked like. I did get an e-mail from someone about color and condition, even though I listed that info.


I also have to get some current info on the value of some of this stuff so that if I wish to put a BIN price, that it is reasonable to both parties.

I need to get a copy of "ebay for Dummies".

Thanks for your help. I would much preferred to pay a commission to someone to do this for me but could not find anyone in the area to act as agent. Shipping would be too expensive and I would still have to do the research needed for a posting.

I will keep a log of this effort and try for a few months and see how it goes.

[InvisibleTouch]

7. You always want to make it as simple for the buyer as possible.

Asking them to Google for a picture is an extra step that will kill a lot of potential sales, even though it's simple and takes just a few keystrokes. Once they leave your sales site, they will almost never come back (as any car dealership will tell you :)).

It's not uncommon to get questions about item specifics that you've stated right there in your description. Some people just don't read carefully. In those cases I just bite my tongue (fingers?), and avoid the temptation to say, "What, are you illiterate? Read the desc!," and instead just answer the question again.

If you offer international shipping, be prepared to get lots of questions as to how much it will cost to send to this-or-such country, even if they could calculate it out on eBay for themselves.

There are some good books out there that will talk you through the whole process step-by-step, but make sure you get a very recent one, because the rules and options are changing all the time. About a year ago eBay stopped allowing the sale of downloadable e-books, for instance, which was a major bummer for a lot of sellers, and made some very good advice instantly obsolete.

[Vinca]

4. Get a PayPal debit card. It's a handy thing to have and you don't

have to wait for a check. You really should put on a picture, too. I would never bid on something I hadn't seen a photo of. "Buy it now" is good for items you absolutely, positively want your price on, but you have to do your research. Sometimes I look up books on ebay and will find a copy of a book in the auction section for under $10 and then another in the "buy it now" section for $150. Obviously, if no one wants it for $10 they sure don't want it for $150. What kind of stuff are you selling?

[yy4me]

6. Hi Vinca. Thanks regarding the PayPal Debit card. Finding all

about this process is daunting. Their explanations assume too much in some parts. I just thought the payment went right into my PayPal acct and then I would request a check if the total was interesting enough. Would the Debit card allow me to go to the bank and withdraw proceeds as I would my ATM card?

Some of the things I will be trying to move along will be thing like 3 Opalescent glass sugar shakers, Mt. Washington Biscuit jar, Large sterling and silver plated serving pieces, some sterling flatware, lots of sterling salt spoons, sugar shells, nut spoons, misc things around here that are old or antique that my kids don't want. No new mdse, just smalls. I have sold a few of the pieces of furniture and a 9X12 oriental locally on Craigslist. That worked out well.

Ebay is far more complicated. I know I will need photo's from here on, just figured out how to do it.
Where will also be some glass and china too. It is not a lot but I don't know what else to do with the stuff and do not want to put on consignment in a case somewhere. I know that I may not do well but at least these things special to me will have a new home, perhaps to a dealer who has customers that collect certain items.

Thanks for the BIN advice. I guess I'd just go for it and let the market make the price. I understand that 1 picture is free and I can do that. I'm still trying to figure out the fees and how to guess at postage and insurance. Some of this mdse would go PO but some UPS. I guess I'll have to guess at a cost for shipping. Nothing will be large so that will not be a problem.

This certainly is a learning experience. Wish ebay was available when I had my shop.
I have received 2 e-mails regarding the item I listed yesterday. Guess what, I forgot the color. Relevant, No? I'll learn.


Everyone's help is really appreciated. Vinca, I will get to your shop sometime this summer. It is a 4 hour drive from here. Maybe I'll make a weekend of antiquing. Can't get it out of my system. It is a good thing I have no money or I'd be in big trouble. Can't spend what I don't have.